Edwin Landseer (1802-1873) “Man Proposes, God Disposes” (1864) Animalier Located In The Royal Holloway,

Rankin Inlet in a snowstorm, october 2017

Canadian(BC) Gothic

- You hear the crickets at night. It’s louder then you remember. It’s better then it being quiet.

- Winter comes fast. When will it leave? You don’t remember.

- There’s a snap in the woods behind you. You hope it’s your dog. You don’t check.

- You see an Alberta license plate. Then another one. The cars are the same.

- You walk around the fall fair. The bright lights and noises fend off anything coming from the surrounding woods, but only till 10:00.

- Halloween is around the corner. You see the local adds about it. Check your candy, don’t go into the woods, always carry a flashlight, stay with your group.

- The tenth person this year has gone missing in the mountains. It’s February.

- Your friend collects animal skulls. You help.

- You go hiking to pick Saskatoon berries. You dare stray from the path, but never go so far you can’t see it.

- You see a missing pet sign and wonder why people still put them up. We all know if it hasn’t turned up before nightfall that the coyotes got to it.

- You always go to the same timmies. You order a double double. They get you a triple triple instead.

- You plan to move to Vancouver. Everyone does.

- You’re stuck behind a logging truck. You’re always stuck behind a logging truck.

- The crust on top of the snow makes it easier to walk on. That is, of course, unless the snow decides it wants to keep you.

- You’re skiiing. No one is wearing a jacket. You’re not wearing a jacket. It’s very hot out.

- Winter snow is blinding. Summer sun is blinding. There is no happy medium.

- Your window rattles. You don’t need to look outside. Part of you knows and dreads whatever is out there.

- The rain is pouring. It’s sunny out.

- The hockey academy guys leave for the rink on the first day. You don’t see them again.

The Danish training ship “Georg Stage” (1934) dresses in rainbow colour, 2021 

Natural history vol. 2 - British National Antarctic Expedition - 1907 - via Internet Archive

On this day, 5th January 1922, Ernest Shackleton, died.

Sir Ernest Shackleton was an Antarctic explorer, best known for leading the ’Endurance’ expedition of 1914-16.

Ernest Henry Shackleton was born on 15 February 1874 in Ireland but his family moved to London where Shackleton was educated. He joined the merchant navy when he was 16 and qualified as a master mariner in 1898. 

In 1901, Shackleton was chosen to go on the Antarctic expedition led by British naval officer Robert Falcon Scott on the ship ‘Discovery’.  The team trekked towards the South Pole in extremely difficult conditions, getting closer to the Pole than anyone had come before. Shackleton became seriously ill and had to return home.

In 1908, he returned to the Antarctic as the leader of his own expedition, on the ship 'Nimrod’. During the expedition, his team climbed Mount Erebus, made many important scientific discoveries and set a record by coming even closer to the South Pole than before. Shackleton was knighted on his return to Britain.

In 1911, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen reached the South Pole, followed by Scott who died on the return journey. In 1914, Shackleton made his third trip to the Antarctic with the ship 'Endurance’, planning to cross Antarctica via the South Pole. Early in 1915, ’Endurance’ became trapped in the ice, and ten months later sank. Shackleton’s crew had already abandoned the ship to live on the floating ice. In April 1916, they set off in three small boats, eventually reaching Elephant Island. Taking five crew members, Shackleton went to find help. In a small boat, the six men spent 16 days crossing 1,300 km of ocean to reach South Georgia and then trekked across the island to a whaling station. The remaining men from the 'Endurance’ were rescued in August 1916. Not one member of the expedition died. Shackleton’s account of the 'Endurance’ expedition, South was published in 1919. The State Library of New South Wales holds a number of editions of this book, including first editions.

Shackleton’s fourth expedition aimed to circumnavigate the Antarctic continent but on 5 January 1922, Shackleton died of a heart attack off South Georgia and he was buried on the island.

The State Library of New South Wales holds collections of photographs depicting Shackleton’s expeditions, including these taken by photographer Frank Hurley. Photographs of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s trans-Antarctic expedition in the 'Endurance’, ca. 1914-1917  

Gotta love how in books about polar exploration, members of other expeditions keep showing up randomly like it's all just a cast of the same 20 white guys going back and forth between the north and south pole.

Historical crossover fanfiction

“Stream in a Winter” (1909)

Jakub Glasner (Polish;1879-1942)

oil on canvas, private collection

Desa Unicum

arctic gothic

• There are strange lights in the sky. It is not the Aurora Borealis. You pretend it is the Aurora Borealis.

• Something is eating the polar bears.

• The ice fields seem to go on forever. Perhaps they do.

• You wake up in darkness. You go to sleep in darkness. You exist in darkness.

• Watch out for falling icicles- they’re waiting for you to come within spearing distance.

• Yes, the wolf is howling your name. Do not go outside.

• Every radio station is static. Sometimes whale song plays from a channel with no name.

• A crack in the ice opened up last week. It creaks and groans intermittently. There is no bottom in sight.

• A pale figure stands atop the northernmost snowdrift at 00:59am each night. At 1am it is gone. We are unsure of his motives.

BOB KUHN Seal Hunter Acrylic 24″ x 36″

LOOK AT THESE ABSOLUTE UNITS AT OSAKA AQUARIUM… round…………

also… plotting jailbreaks between bouts of sleep…